Full-mouth rehabilitation with increasing minimum vertical dimension in the patient with severely worn dentition and deep bite / 대한치과보철학회지

Full-mouth rehabilitation with increasing vertical dimension can be used for patients with severely worn teeth. In severely worn teeth also, the alveolar process can be elongated to compensate for the reduced vertical dimension, and the patient’s vertical dimension of occlusion can be kept constant. However, full-mouth rehabilitation with increasing vertical dimension must be carefully chosen, because the vertical dimension can be reduced by tooth wear. It is important to establish a treatment plan with the systematic diagnosis of the change in the vertical dimension and gain space for the prosthesis. It is necessary to change the vertical dimension to secure the restoration space and select the minimum vertical dimension elevation for the esthetic and functional goal. In this case report, the patient complained of difficulty during chewing due to a worn dentition and wanted esthetic improvement of the short mandibular anterior teeth. After systematic evaluation and diagnosis, we performed full-mouth rehabilitation with minimum vertical dimension elevation to obtain the space for restoration. This resulted in a stable and harmonious occlusion, and the functional and esthetic problems of the patient were solved after treatment. The patient was satisfied with the results of the treatment and maintained stable occlusion during the follow-up period.

Prosthetic rehabilitation by obturator considering the biomechanics in partially edentulous patient after maxillectomy

Patients who went through maxillectomy can have severely impaired swallowing, mastication, and pronunciation functions because of palatal defects. Leakage occurs through the nasal cavity while eating, chewing becomes difficult due to the loss of teeth and alveolar ridges, and oral and nasal passages are not separated, leading to hyper-nasal sound, and significantly reducing the quality of life. To prosthetically reconstruct the defect, the weight of the obturator should be reduced as much as possible to minimize dropout because of gravity, and the bulb of the obturator should be properly extended into the defect to get additional retention and stability. In this case of a partially edentulous patient who underwent additional maxillary resection because of tumor recurrence, a metal framework was designed by applying the basic design principles of removable partial dentures. An obturator with improved retention, stability, and support was fabricated through functional impressions. The patient was satisfied with the improved facial expression, mastication, swallowing, and pronunciation, and showed stable occlusion and oral hygiene management during the follow-up period.